Windows 7 64-bit most popular OS on Steam

Data from NetMarketShare indicates Windows 7 is now more used than Windows Vista, and the latest Steam Hardware Survey reveals Windows 7 is now the operating system of choice for gamers. Last month Windows 7 64-bit gained 3.67 percent to 30.32 percent, thereby dethroning the aging Windows XP 32-bit operating system. All versions of Windows 7 combined have a marketshare of 41.86 percent, compared to 30.88 for Windows XP and 21.75 percent for Windows Vista.

Interestingly, the sixth most popular OS (after Vista x64) is Mac OS X 10.6.3. Adding the different versions together, OS X's usage share totals about 5%. Not too shabby, at least if you consider the Mac version of Steam has barely been around for three months.

Other noteworthy stats: AMD's Radeon HD 4800 series are now the most popular graphics cards among Steam users, but AMD's graphics usage share is only 33% (Nvidia's is 59.11%). 1680x1050 is the most popular resolution, almost a third of users have quad-core CPUs, and Intel still dominates with a sizable 72% CPU usage share.